Early departure...589 public sector workers benefit from gov't's early retirement programme

Jerome Reynolds, Assistant Editor-Online

A total of 589 public-sector workers have been approved for early retirement under the Government’s Special Early Retirement Programme.

Even as the Ministry of Finance prepares a report on the programme, the Auditor General’s Department is conducting a performance audit of the initiative.

The department also undertook a survey of all eligible public-sector employees (those 50-59 years old) and programme beneficiaries.

In response to enquiries made by The Gleaner, the finance ministry disclosed that 830 eligible persons applied to retire early, with the application period running from January 1, 2018, to February 28, 2018.

To be eligible, an applicant must be between 50 and 59 years old, must be a permanent employee, must have contributed to a vested pension plan for a minimum of 10 years, and must be eligible to retire early as per the rules of the pension plan.

The finance ministry disclosed that 241 applications were rejected, explaining, “The head of entity had the right, based on the programme, not to approve someone for retirement under the programme if they believed that it would negatively impact services provided by the organisation or productivity.”

The ministry ignored questions about the ministries, departments and agencies from which applications were received and the ministries, departments and agencies that saw applicants being rejected.

It also did not address questions about what the cost will be to the Government to make payments to the early retirees.

The Gleaner submitted follow-up questions, which have gone unanswered.  

“We are in the process of preparing a final report and a press release with the overall performance of the programme. I expect that this should be ready by about the third week of February,” a ministry spokesperson said, who added that the early retirement programme has been rolled out.

The finance ministry had indicated that special incentives have been included in the programme, such as two weeks’ salary for each year of service, up to a maximum of one year’s salary, and payment in lieu of accumulated vacation leave.

Contacting the Auditor General's Department

Civil servants who want to share their experience with the early retirement programme may do the following:

Telephone: 878-9268309

Fax: 876-9684690

Email: feedback@auditorgeneral.gov.jm

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